Canadian Model Rules of the Road New Edition in the Works

The Chief Engineers’ Council of the Transportation Association of Canada (TAC) has approved a new edition of the Canadian Model Rules of the Road.

Developed under the auspices of TAC’s Traffic Operations and Management Standing Committee (TOMSC), the document will replace the 1996 edition that was jointly published with the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA). 

The emergence of modern roundabouts and traffic calming, the increased popularity of active transportation modes, and changes in traffic control issues particularly with respect to transit, dictate that the Canadian Model Rules of the Road needed to be reviewed and updated.

The document will present a generic set of traffic rules which must be observed by users of the road system. Various elements will be included:

• traffic control devices;
• passing;
• use of roadway;
• lanes;
•  right-of-way;
• pedestrians;
• turns;
• driver signals;
• speed restrictions;
• parking;
• bicycles, and
• transit.

Intended as a reference guide for professionals responsible for preparing legislation governing the use of Canadian roadway facilities, the publication will also help practitioners implement traffic control devices to understand how road users are expected to respond to various traffic control measures.

The Rules of the Road Subcommittee of TOMSC will maintain and update the document for new devices approved and included in the Manual of Uniform Traffic for Control Devices for Canada.

Creative Transportation Solutions (CTS) completed the research for this project, whose funding partners were: Alberta Transportation, Manitoba Infrastructure, Ministry of Transportation Ontario, le ministère des Transports, de la Mobilité durable et de l’Électrification des transports du Québec, Saskatchewan Highways and Infrastructure, City of Ottawa and Transport Canada.